When it came time for deciding where to take our
family vacation for 2009, there was only one choice -- Scotland. My wife
and I had spent our honeymoon there in 2006, and it was time to
introduce the rest of the family to this wonderful country. Our first
visit had been only a week due to work schedules and baby-sitting (my
son from a previous marriage was 4 at the time) so this time we spent 2
weeks touring around the country and seeing and doing as much as we
could. With our children, (ages 7 and 2 now) we also tried to do things
that they would enjoy, and so several of our activities centered around
the "Harry Potter" stories.
Crawford Castle, South Lanarkshire
The trip began with a train ride up the East
Coast from London to Edinburgh. We caught the train at King's Cross
Station and found "Platform 9 3/4" filling our then son with glee.
After passing through Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed, we arrived in
Edinburgh in the late afternoon. After resting up overnight, we got up
late and had lunch at our favorite Edinburgh restaurant, Deacon
Brodie’s. We then went to Edinburgh Castle and spent the rest of the
day in and around town.
The next couple of days saw trips to several
places including Roslynn Chapel; Crawford, South Lanarkshire (Clan
Crawford’s ancestral birthplace); and south back into England to
Alnwick Castle where much of the first 2 "Harry Potter " movies were
filmed.
Staffa (Fingal's Cave)
We then traveled across the country to the west
coast. After stopping at the Scottish Maritime Museum in Glasgow, we
took the first of 2 ferry rides from Gourock to Dunoon. Back on the
road, we then took a very picturesque drive across the Scottish
countryside over the Tighnabruich Overlook and on to Portavadie where
we caught the ferry to Tarbert, (where, incidentally, the best Cullen
Skink in Scotland can be found at the Anchor Hotel.)
Glenfinnan Viaduct
After an evening in Tarbert it was off to Oban
for 3 days. On the way we stopped at Dunadd and Kilmartin. In Oban, we
took a day cruise out to Staffa, the Treshnish Isles, and the Iona
Abbey amidst extremely rough seas (very stormy, 10-15 ft. waves) on a
boat (the MV Ossian) that couldn’t have been much bigger than a school
bus. It was a bit frightening and while fortunately none of us got
seasick or injured (we were tossed about quite violently at times) we
were all very happy to get our feet back on solid ground with an
afternoon on Iona, before taking the ferry back to Oban.
Next, we
travelled north to Inverness for 3 days. This portion of the trip saw
visits to Urquhart Castle, Ft. George, and a day trip to Ft. William
for a ride on the Jacobite Steam Train, crossing the Glenfinnan
Viaduct (another "Harry Potter" activity as this train and its course
have been a staple of the movies.)
2009 Edinburgh Military Tattoo
After Inverness, we headed back south to
Edinburgh via Stirling and a stop at Stirling Castle and the Wallace
National Monument.
The final portion of the trip was spent back in
Edinburgh attending the opening ceremonies of the 2009 Edinburgh
Military Tattoo.
We can't wait to go back!!
